Polyurethane prepolymers obtained by reacting an organic diisocyanate with a polyol are commonly used in industry to make a wide variety of cellular and non-cellular polyurethane products. In preparing the prepolymer a stoichiometric excess of diisocyanate (i.e., an equivalent NCO/OH ratio of greater than 2/1) is generally employed. However, the use of such a relative proportion of the reactants leads to an increase in the amount of unreacted diisocyanate in the prepolymer reaction product. This has been found to be undesirable because diisocyanate vapors are believed to be toxic to humans and may pose a health hazard to workers exposed to high diisocyanate levels over an extended period of time.
A number of processes have been developed in an effort to reduce the unreacted diisocyanate content in polyurethane prepolymers:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,183,112 discloses a method for removing unreacted diisocyanate from the reaction mixture of an excess of organic diisocyanate with a polyol after reaction has ceased which comprises flowing the reaction mixture as a thin film and heating the film at a temperature of 150.degree. C. or more while agitating the film of the reaction mixture to avoid any quiescence. The apparatus used is a falling film evaporator. It is stated to be advantageous to flush the evaporator by pumping a suitable solvent into the bottom thereof to aid in removing the isocyanate vapor therefrom. Example 5 shows about 0.02 parts o-dichlorobenzene vapor per one part polyisocyanate is pumped into the bottom of the evaporator to flush out the polyisocyanate vapors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,372 discloses a method for polymerizing an organic polyisocyanate to form a polymer having unreacted-NCO groups wherein a monomeric organic diisocyanate is reacted with a glycol and the resulting urethane diisocyanate is heated under alkaline conditions until a polymeric organic polyisocyanate soluble in organic solvents conventionally used in making lacquers and containing less than about 1% of the monomer in admixture therewith is obtained. The excess organic diisocyanate can be separated from the resulting urethane diisocyanate by subjecting the mixture to a vacuum treatment or a single extraction with a solvent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,624 discloses that monomeric toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is removed from a prepolymer composition by reacting the monomeric TDI remaining in the prepolymer with a benzyl alcohol.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,577 discloses a process for producing high molecular weight polyisocyanates using, as solvent medium for the reaction between the volatile diisocyanate and hydrogen containing substance, a solvent, in particular acetonitrile, which has a strong affinity for the high molecular weight polyisocyanate, is only partially miscible with the aliphatic and/or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons used as solvent for the extraction of unreacted volatile isocyanate, has a low boiling point by virtue of which it is easily distillable without causing collateral reactions and, finally, may be replaced by the solvents which are normally used in applying the high molecular weight polyisocyanates in practice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,662 discloses a process for removing unreacted TDI from a polyisocyanate by bringing the polyisocyanate into contact with molecular sieves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,171 discloses that unreacted diisocyanate is removed from the polyurethane prepolymer reaction product mixture by co-distillation of the unreacted diisocyanate with a compound which is at least partially miscible with the prepolymer and which boils at a temperature greater than the boiling point of the diisocyanate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,279 discloses urethane linked mixtures of 2,4- and 2,6-toluene diisocyanates (ULTDI dimers) having low melting points. After the reaction of TDI with the preselected polyol, excess isocyanate may be removed from the reaction product by distillation. Example 1 discloses that the product was recovered by distilling at 100.degree. C. and 0.1 mm Hg in a wiped film apparatus to remove unreacted toluene diisocyanate.